The publication of the Black-Scholes formula in 1973 appeared for the first time to put the pricing of financial options onto a rational and objective basis. While earlier option-pricing models relied on a subjective estimate of the stock’s uncertain future growth rate, the Black-Scholes model...

The Black-Scholes(-Merton) model of options pricing establishes a theoretical relationship between the "fair" price of an option and other parameters characterizing the option and prevailing market conditions. Here I discuss a common application of the model with the following striking feature:...